Changing Times
by Faramirlover
Summary: Cedric shouldn't have died in that maze. So I've made it that he didn't. I'm terrible at sumaries so just read the story. CD/HP. Slash. The rating has been changed so bear that in mind.
1. Return

A/N: We all know Cedric is a really nice boy and I personally think that he would have let Harry think he was going to take the cup with him and then at the last second stepped away. Following me? Good. So when Harry gets back to Hogwarts, Cedric is standing outside the maze, alive and well.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

OOOOOO

Harry let go of the cup which dropped to the ground with a loud thunk. The world seemed to spin around him. Before he had even registered where he was, he felt himself falling but before he could hit the ground strong arms wrapped themselves around his waist

"Careful, Harry." said a voice from behind him as they lowered him slowly to the ground "Don't want to do yourself an injury.

"Cedric." Harry breathed, tears starting to fall.

"Shhhh! What happened Harry? What's wrong?"

"Voldemort." Harry gasped in between sobs "He's back. He nearly killed me. He's back."

"Just breathe, Harry. Everything's going to be ok. Dumbledore's nearly here. He'll look after you." whispered Cedric, cradling Harry close, rocking him back and forth.

"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." sobbed Harry, pushing himself closer into Cedric's chest and clinging to his arm.

"I'm here, Harry. Don't worry."

Harry watched as Dumbledore's feet approached and the headmaster knelt down next to him. Feeling to weak to sit up, he just clutched harder onto Cedric.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked sharply

"Voldemort's back." whispered Harry, trying desperately to fight the tears.

Dumbledore drew in a sharp breath of surprise and then returned to his usual controlled self.

"Diggory, keep everyone back for me. I need to get Harry up to the school." said Dumbledore to Cedric.

Harry gave a small whimper as Cedric pulled away and stood up.

"Can you stand?" asked Dumbledore, helping Harry to his feet.

Harry shook his head numbly, feeling upset that Cedric had left him.

"I will carry you then." said Dumbledore, lifting Harry into his arms with surprising ease.

As he carried Harry towards the castle, Dumbledore questioned him about everything that had happened since he entered the maze. Harry finished his story just as they reached the hospital wing.

"We are very lucky," said Dumbledore, lowering Harry onto a bed "That Mr Diggory was not with you. Who knows what may have befallen him."

Harry suddenly felt as though he was going o be sick. Cedric could have been hurt, or worse, died. And it would have been all his fault.

At this point Madam Pomfrey bustled over and started to examine Harry's leg.

"Poppy, I think it wise that we give Mr Potter a dreamless sleep potion." said Dumbledore.

Madam Pomfrey bustled off to fetch the potion, leaving Dumbledore and Harry alone.

"Right, Harry." said Dumbledore, sitting down on the end of Harry's bed "I need you to get as much sleep as you can. Tomorrow I will send for Cornelius Fudge and you'll have to tell him everything that happened."

"Yes, Professor." said Harry, stifling a yawn.

Madam Pomfrey came back and poured Harry a steaming beaker of potion.

"Drink all of this." she said handing it to Harry.

"I'll tell Miss Granger and Mr Weasley where you are. I'm sure they'll want to come and see you." said Dumbledore.

"Thank-you Professor." said Harry, shrugging out of his robes and into the pyjamas Madam Pomfrey held out for him.

Swallowing down as much of the potion as he could in one go, Harry lay back on the pillows and drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOO

When Harry opened his eyes, the hospital wing was dark. On his bedside table he just about make out a bunch of flowers and a scribbled note. Reaching out, he picked it up and read it, instantly recognising Hermione's writing.

_Dumbledore said that we should come and see you but you're asleep so we're going away again. Sorry but Madame Pomfrey creeps Ron out and he couldn't stay here. Hope you're okay soon. See you later._

_Hermione xx_

Harry smiled slightly at the thought of Ron squirming under Madame Pomfrey's gaze. Putting down Hermione's note, he turned over to try and get comfortable. It was then that he caught sight of a figure at the bottom of the bed. Fighting the urge to yell, he leant forward to get a better look at the person. They were asleep, their head resting on the bed by Harry's feet. Harry shifted his body round so that he was sat where his feet had been and tapped the sleeping figure on the shoulder. They instantly jerked awake and sat up.

Harry found himself gazing into the dark grey pools that were Cedric Diggory's eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments before Cedric coughed and looked down at his hands.

"Hi." he whispered, a flush creeping up his neck.

"Hey." said Harry with a grin "Not wanting to sound ungrateful but what are you doing here?"

"I…I'm not sure." murmured Cedric, blushing even more "I guess you just seemed so upset early that I wanted to check on you."

"That still doesn't explain why you were asleep at my feet." Harry pointed out, shuffling sideways and patting the bed next to him.

"Suppose it doesn't." said Cedric, sitting down on the bed next to Harry.

There was silence for a few moments as neither boy knew what to say. Then Harry noticed Cedric was shivering.

"You're cold." Harry stated, grabbing the covers and pulling them over the two of them.

They sat in silence once more before Cedric spoke.

"Congrats on winning the tournament."

"You should have won it with me." scolded Harry jokingly, all too aware of Dumbledore's words earlier.

"Sorry about that. I knew you would never just take it. I didn't want to win anymore. I just wanted it to be over." muttered Cedric, his eyes downcast.

"Why? You entered the tournament to win. Why give up at the end?"

Cedric shrugged "I wanted you to win."

"Why?" asked Harry, watching him closely.

"I… Oh, god, Harry. You're going to hate me."

"I could never hate you, Ced." said Harry, laying his hand on Cedric's forearm.

"You will…" Cedric took a deep breath then spoke in a rush "I have a huge crush on you."

Harry stared at him for a moment, his heart doing back flips inside his ribcage.

"_You _have a crush on _me_?" asked Harry, shocked and elated at the same time.

"Um, yeah. I'd better go." said Cedric.

He stood up to go but Harry's hand reached out and grasped his wrist, pulling him back down onto the bed. Cedric opened his mouth to protest but Harry silenced him, leaning forward and crushing their lips together. Cedric froze against Harry's lips for a few seconds before giving in to the kiss. Bringing his hand up behind Harry head, Cedric pulled him ever deeper into the kiss. Letting go of Cedric's wrist, Harry sought out Cedric's hand and entwined their fingers.

Much too soon for Harry's liking, they broke apart, gasping for air. They rested their foreheads together as their breathing relaxed and their heart rates returned to normal.

"I guess I sorts like you too." Whispered Harry as Cedric's warm breath tickled his lips.

Cedric smiled and tilted his head to kiss Harry again but this time more gently. When they broke apart Harry had to struggle to stifle a yawn.

"I should either be insulted," said Cedric, smiling "Or, I should be telling you to go to sleep."

"I can't sleep. I'm too happy." Harry leant forward to try and kiss Cedric again but Cedric shook his head.

"You, Harry Potter, are going to go to sleep." Cedric placed a hand on Harry's chest and pushed him down onto the bed and pulled he covers up to his chin.

As he made to leave, Harry's voice whispered his name, causing him to stop.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Stay with me. I don't want to be alone." Harry sounded so small and defenceless.

"Ok." said Cedric, pulling a chair up next to Harry's bed.

"Don't be an idiot." said Harry, shifting sideways on the bed "You'll freeze."

Cedric gave a fake sigh of annoyance and clambered into the bed next to Harry. After a moment, Harry turned over and curled up against Cedric's chest. Cedric smiled and wrapped his arms round Harry's waist, pulling him closer. Soon Harry fell asleep, his chest rising and falling against Cedric's. As soon as he was sure Harry was deeply asleep, Cedric eased out of the bed. Placing a last kiss on Harry's forehead he murmured "Love you." and silently slipped out of the hospital wing.

OOOOOO

Ok, tell me what you think. Good or bad or nothing at all?


	2. Party!

A/N: I'm only writing more because people bugged me too. I hope you like it. Tell me if you do or tell me if you don't. Please tell me something.

Disclaimer: Same as before.

OOOOOO

Harry turned over, expecting to push against Cedric's body. Instead he kept on rolling and fell off the side of the bed with a loud thud. A moment later Madam Pomfrey came out to inspect the source of the noise. Feeling rather embarrassed, Harry tried to lever himself back onto the bed but his injured leg wouldn't support him. Madam Pomfrey tutted quietly before coming over to help him.

"Do try and remain in your bed." scolded Madam Pomfrey, but in a kind way.

"Can't you do something about my leg?" asked Harry, gesturing at the useless appendage.

"That's what this is for." said Madam Pomfrey, holding up a vial of green liquid which she then proceeded to rub into the wound on his leg.

At first it stung like hell but this was soon replaced by a strange tingling sensation that spread up his leg.

"Right," said Madam Pomfrey, putting the cork back into the neck of the bottle "You can't put any pressure on that leg until I say. And no moving it for at least an hour. No stupid falling out of bed."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." sighed Harry, already feeling impatient and wanting to move around.

"Oh, and before I forget, a Mr Diggory dropped in whilst you were asleep and left this book for you." said Madam Pomfrey, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a rather old, rather battered looking copy of Quidditch Through the Ages.

"Thanks." said Harry, accepting the book.

Harry waited until Madam Pomfrey had gone back to her office before eagerly leafing through the pages. Harry gave a small cry of delight as he found, wedged in between pages 108 and 109, a small, tightly folded note. Unfolding it he saw that it was more an animated sketch than a note. Harry watched as a stuck Cedric trailed kisses over a stick Harry's arms, over his shoulders, up his neck and onto his lips which he kissed passionately.

Harry blushed slightly at the thought of Cedric doing this too him. After folding the note back up he tucked it safely under his pillow. Lying back on the pillow he tried desperately to fall asleep and escape from the thoughts of Voldemort which kept flashing across his mind.

OOOOOO

Harry left the Hospital wing the next afternoon and, much to his disappointment, found his way back to Gryffindor Tower alone. Feeling rather upset that neither Ron Hermione or, more importantly Cedric, had come to see him leave, Harry pushed open the portrait hole and was greeted by a wave of sound.

There were banners hung across the walls, balloons in every corner and a huge sign across the ceiling read 'Congratulations Harry!'. Fred and George appeared a moment later holding a butterbeer for him and a tray covered in sweets. Harry took the drink and a chocolate frog before allowing himself to be drawn into the crowd of happily partying people.

As midnight drew nearer Harry realised that the pain in his leg was growing again. Remembering Madam Pomfrey's warning to get plenty of rest, he excused himself and headed up the stairs to the fourth year's dormitory. After changing into his pyjamas, Harry slid into bed and lay there feeling rather annoyed that he hadn't seen Cedric. After a couple of seconds he became aware that he could hear breathing that wasn't his own.

"Hello?" asked Harry, trying to keep the fear out of his voice as images of Voldemort and Death Eater's leapt to the front of his mind "Is there someone there?"

There was a small laugh and a swish of material as Cedric Diggory stepped out from under an invisibility cloak.

"Cedric!" Harry gasped as relief washed over him but his heart rate didn't slow.

Instead it increased at the sight of the Hufflepuff boy. Cedric smiled and moved closer.

"Nice to _see _you, Harry." said Cedric putting a stress on the third word.

A horrible thought hit Harry and he had to fight to keep the blush from his face.

"When did you come up here?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Just after you. You were a little too busy getting changed to notice the door open." said Cedric, a smug smile on his face, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

The only things that Harry could think to say were swear words so he kept his mouth shut and scowled as a blush crept up his neck and over his cheeks.

Cedric saw this and with a small laugh slid into the bed beside Harry. Harry found Cedric rather intoxicating this close and had to fight to stop himself kissing him. With a small jolt he realised that he didn't have to stop himself and slid his arm round Cedric's waist, pulling him closer and bringing their lips together. The kiss became more heated as Cedric's tongue found its way into Harry's mouth. Harry shuddered slightly as Cedric ran his tongue across his teeth. Cedric's fingers found their way to the buttons on Harry's pyjama top and began undoing them.

"Oh my God!" said a voice in the doorway.

OOOOOO

A/N: Oooh, cliff-hanger… Review please. I would love it if you did.


	3. Penguin

A/N: Sorry this took so long. Thanks to all the fab people who reviewed the last chapter. I love you guys. :D

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Not even my socks.

OOOOOO

With the lightning quick reflexes born of their Quidditch training, Harry and Cedric sprang apart and turned to face the door. Ron Weasley was stood in the doorway, his back to them, talking to someone on the stairs.

"I didn't think Fred would actually turn George into a penguin." said Ron, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and tuned back to Cedric but he was gone.

"Ced?" Harry whispered, scanning the room and seeing that Cedrics invisibility cloak was no longer on the floor.

"Hi Harry." said Ron, turning round and spotting him "I thought you'd be asleep."

"I was about to but I got distracted."

Ron nodded and started to get ready for bed. Feeling rather annoyed, Harry got back into bed and drew the hangings shut. Harry sat for a moment at the head of his bed, knees tucked up to his chin, silently fuming at Ron for interrupting. For a brief moment he considered sneaking out of the dorm to go find Cedric but this idea was dismissed. His leg was hurting a lot and he didn't know the Hufflepuff password.

Grabbing his covers he tried to pull them over himself but they wouldn't move. There was something weighing them down. Harry's heart beat frantically in his chest as he reached out a tentative hand and poked at the invisible something. Harry grinned slightly as he felt material beneath his fingers and gave a small tug.

Cedric's head slid into view and before Harry could say anything Cedric's lips were muffling all sounds. Cedric slid his tongue into Harry's mouth and once again began to explore every nook and cranny. Eventually the need for oxygen forced them to stop and they broke apart, gasping for air.

"You alright, Harry?" asked Ron's voice from the other side of the closed hangings.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just something in my mouth." said Harry nonchalantly at the same time pressing a finger to Cedric's lips to keep him silent.

Cedric smiled and took Harry's hand so he could press his lips to the palm of it.

'Night.' he mouthed whilst making sleep signals with his hand. Harry frowned and crossed his arms, shaking his head vigorously. Cedric gave a wry smile and pushed Harry back down onto the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. He placed a last kiss on Harry's cheek before pulling his invisibility cloak back on. The hangings swung open then shut again and a moment later Harry heard the dorm door follow suit.

OOOOOO

That night Harry dreamt of the graveyard. Every detail was exactly the same as it had been that night, except for one thing. Harry wasn't alone, Cedric was with him. Harry watched through a cloud of pain as Wormtail raised a wand and shot green light at Cedric. A moment later Cedric's lifeless body hit the floor and Harry awoke, yelling Cedric's name.

"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Ron's urgent voice as Harry's hangings were wrenched open.

Harry shook his head, not knowing what to say.

"Was it t do with Diggory?" asked Ron quietly.

"Diggory?" Harry asked still feeling slightly dazed from waking up so suddenly.

"Cedric. You were yelling his name."

"Just a bad dream about the Yule Ball. Diggory was laughing at my dancing." Harry lied.

"Well it was pretty bad." joked Ron, breaking into a grin.

Harry gave a forced laugh and rolled out of bed.

"Can't sleep now." he explained, pulling on a cloak and a pair of boots "I'm going for a wander."

"You sure?" asked Ron, eyeing Harry's flushed cheeks and slightly shaking hands.

Harry nodded without saying anything and a few moments later he was exiting the dormitory. As soon as he was out of ear shot he broke into a run, tearing down the stairs and out through the portrait hole. He ran as fast as he could until he found himself stood in front of the great wooden front doors. Pushing them open he ran out into the cold night.

Suddenly his legs gave way beneath him and he found himself rolling uncontrollably towards the lake. He came to a sudden stop right next to the waters edge. Harry breathed a sight of relief and tried to get up but his leg gave way beneath him and he ended up in a muddy heap on the floor again.

"Damn!" Harry swore, lying back into the mud and watching the clouds heeling overhead.

"What do I do now?" he asked the heavens, pulling his invisibility cloak off and flinging it too one side "Am I just supposed to sit here until someone finds me? Knowing my luck it'll be Voldemort."

Harry sat in silence for a few moments, trying to think about anything apart from the horrible dream but every time he shut his eyes he could see Cedric lying spread-eagled on the ground, his eyes glazed and unseeing. The silence was broken by the sound of running footsteps. Twisting around Harry peered through the half darkness towards the source of the disturbance. Moments later Cedric Diggory appeared out of the gloom, running at full pelt towards him, his wand outstretched.

"Cedric!" Harry gasped, delighted to see him.

"Merlin, Harry I was so worried when I couldn't find you!" cried Cedric, kneeling down in the mud ext to Harry and flinging his arms round Harry's shoulders.

At once Harry began to cry again.

"Harry? What's wrong?" asked Cedric concernedly.

"Idremyudieanlemealllone." sobbed Harry, his words distorted and barely recognised because of the tears.

"You'll have to say that again, Harry." said Cedric, gently stroking Harry's hair in a comforting manner.

"I dreamt you died and left me all alone." said Harry, slightly slower but just as shakily.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm not going to die. Well not in the next forty years at least." joked Cedric, trying to lighten the mood.

"But Voldemort might find out and I know, I just know he'll use you to get to me. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't, Harry. I won't let anything happen to either of us. I love you too much." whispered Cedric, his arms locked around Harry protectively.

"You, you love me?" Harry asked, shocked and delighted at the same time.

Cedric looked horror struck.

"I didn't just say that, did I? Oh, god. Harry don't hate me. I know we only just started going out but I never ever want to be with anyone but you. I want to look after you and keep you safe and never ever let anyone harm-"

The last of Cedric's words were cut off as Harry pushed their lips together.

"I love you too, Ced" said Harry, before kissing him again.

OOOOOO

A/N: Sorry it's a little all over the place. I don't know what's wrong but I'm finding it a little hard to write at the moment. Soz. Anyway, I don't know whether to leave it there or to write more. Tell me what you think. If you do want more, tell me what you want me to write. :D

Review!


	4. Possesive

**A/N: I am so so so sorry that it has taken me so long but I'm determined to finish this story before I write any more of anything else. Thanks to the person (I can't remember who) that gave me the good idea of how to continue this. Hopefully you know who you are.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Possessive

When Harry woke he found he was still beside the lake, lying on the slightly muddy ground with Cedric's arm slung protectively round his waist. The sun was just beginning to rise in the east, tinting the clouds and the lake a pale yellow.

Harry tried to sit up but Cedric's arm tightened around him when he moved and he found himself pinned, quite comfortably, to the ground. Not wanting to, but knowing that he had to, Harry poked Cedric awake.

Cedric's eyes fluttered open and he gazed around blearily for a few moments, looking, in Harry's opinion, totally adorable. Then his eyes slid into focus and he changed from adorable to downright hot.

"Hiya," said Cedric, leaning forward to kiss Harry tenderly on the lips.

"Hi," Harry murmured back happily, knowing full well he was grinning like a fool but unable to stop himself.

For a few moments all Harry could think about was the way Cedric's lips curled up on the left hand side when he was thinking about something nice then he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"We gotta go," said Harry, loosening Cedric's arm from round his waist.

"Huh? But I like it here," grinned Cedric, pulling Harry back down as he tried to stand and pressing their lips together "Don't you like it here?"

"Please, Ced, don't," Harry said, pulling away "I've been thinking. Nobody can know about us and if we stay here someone's bound to see."

The smile slid of Cedric's face to be replaced by wariness.

"Are you ashamed of me? Of being gay?"

"Don't be an idiot. It's just, I'm 14 and you're, what, 17?"

"18 in a few weeks," said Cedric, nodding.

"Exactly. You're an adult. I'm still a kid. Even if we don't care about the age gap other people will. I've had enough rubbish to deal with recently; I don't think I could take people saying stuff about you and me being wrong."

Knowing he was about to cry, Harry turned away from Cedric and folded his arms, determinately trying to fight the tears. Cedric hurriedly clambered to his feet and wrapped his arms around Harry from behind.

"If that's what you think is best then that's what we'll do. Personally I don't care what anyone else thinks but it's your choice. As long as you're mine I don't care who does or doesn't know."

"You're possessive," Harry commented, turning round in Cedric's arms and lightly kissing him "And now I must be leaving because we don't want Dumbledore thinking I've been kidnapped, do we?"

Cedric nodded, releasing Harry and bending to scoop his invisibility cloak off the floor.

"Missing you already," Cedric murmured, kissing Harry gently on the tip of his nose before swinging the cloak over his head.

Harry blinked back the tears that had suddenly sprung into his eyes and hurried back towards the castle, wondering how he was going to survive a whole summer without Cedric.

**OOOOOO**

**A/N: Sorry it's so short but the next update will be soon. I hope. Reviews?**


	5. Potions

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. They were much appreciated. This chapter is almost pure fluff.

Disclaimer: Do I ever need to write it anymore?

OOOOOO

Harry made it back to the dormitory without anyone noticing. When Ron awoke and heard Harry singing in the shower he merely assumed that Harry had come back whilst he was asleep. The rest of his dorm mates didn't notice his absence in the first place. Normally that would have bothered Harry but today he was too happy to care.

Ron and Hermione both commented on Harry's happy mood as they went down to breakfast but Harry was too busy keeping his eyes open for Cedric, desperate to catch sight of his boyfriends light brown hair.

Many minutes searching revealed him sat at the Hufflepuff table, talking animatedly to the boy next to him. Throughout the meal Harry watched Cedric out of the corner of his eye but Cedric didn't look up and by the time he had to get up to go to Charms he felt sick, partly from jealousy, partly from worry and the rest from guilt at being so childish.

Charms passed in a whirl of voices and magical sparks, Transfiguration followed suit, none of it really registering in Harry's Cedric filled brain. He didn't really care though. The exams had been and gone. Anything they learnt now would probably be covered again at the start of next year.

Break time was spent hurrying about the castle, desperately trying to find any trace of Cedric. It was as he turned in the direction of the Owlery that he realised how stupid he was being. He didn't need to spend all his time with Cedric. He was becoming obsessed and that was never a good thing.

Shaking his head at his own ridiculousness Harry headed off to potions where he found Ron and Hermione stood outside the classroom door, deep in discussion.

"There's something wrong with him, 'mione," Ron said in hushed tones "He's been acting weird for the past few days and now he's dashing round the castle like a mad man."

"I know. If he doesn't tell us what's wrong we'll just have to confront him about it."

"But what if he gets angry and won't talk to us and then – Harry!"

Ron had suddenly spotted Harry over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione spun round to face him, a deep red blush painting her cheeks.

"Harry! We were just talking about… um… about-" garbled Hermione, desperately trying to come up with something.

"You were talking about me," Harry supplied "I don't mind. Really. I know I've been acting weird and I'm sorry. I'm going to try and be more normal from now on."

"We don't mind, mate," said Ron, throwing an arm round Harry's shoulders "Do you want to tell us what's going on?"

"I can't. I will some time but not yet," Harry looked pleadingly at the pair of them, begging with his eyes for them to understand "I'm sorry."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but with a small shake of his head and a muttered 'leave it' Ron kept her silent.

Over the next few minutes the rest of the potions class arrive, filtering into the corridor in twos and threes. Harry wanted to apologise to Ron and Hermione again but the growing levels of noise made it impossible. A sudden hush filled the corridor and Harry knew that either one of two things had happened, Snape or Malfoy had arrived. Or both.

Luckily it was just one of them. Unluckily it was Snape. Mind you, Harry mused as he trudged into the dungeon classroom and set about getting things set up, it would have been just as unlucky if it was Malfoy. The rest of the lesson slipped away in a tide of lost Gryffindor points as Neville melted another cauldron, Ron called Snape an evil git under his breath, not quite quietly enough, and Seamus managed too burn off his eyebrows once again. The final nail in the coffin of Gryffindors House Cup hopes was hammered home by none other than Harry himself.

It was in the last ten minutes of the lesson that disaster struck. Harry was just giving his potion a last few stirs when he knocked a full jar of powdered bicorn horn straight into his cauldron. There were a few seconds where nothing happened and Harry thought he'd got away with it. Unfortunately not.

The bang was loud, the potion that went everywhere was bright green and Snape's face, just before Harry's vision went black, was a furious red.

Harry's mind flooded with a feeling of absolute nothingness, no pain, no nothing. Time seemed to trickle by. Nothing moved, no sound was heard and the only thing Harry knew was the beating of his own heart.

OOOOOO

Suddenly there was sound, faint whisperings tickled at the edges of Harry's consciousness. Gradually he became aware of someone holding his hand. Whoever it was was stoking the back of his hand, probably with their thumb, and it was presumably them that was murmuring quiet words of encouragement. After a moment Harry decided that the person seemed quite friendly and gave their hand a squeeze. There was a small gasp of surprise followed by frantic shouting.

"Madame Pomfrey! Madame Pomfrey, he squeezed my hand!"

A cold hand on his forehead followed hurried footsteps.

"He's heated up a bit. I'll have to test his reflexes."

A sudden sharp pain shot through his leg and he jerked uncontrollably.

"He's waking up. His reactions are coming back and his mind's taking control again. It won't be long now."

"How long do you think?" asked the other voice.

"Another day. Maybe a bit longer."

Harry's tired brain struggled to understand what the people were going on about.

"Another day till what?" Harry mumbled shifting slightly and blinking blearily.

"You're awake!" cried a voice and arms were flung round his shoulders.

"Careful, Mr Diggory. We need to be very gentle with him. I'll give you a minute to bring him up to speed."

Madame Pomfrey walked away leaving Harry and Cedric alone.

"Ced? What's going on?"

"You've been out of it for five days. Madame Pomfrey said it was because you accidentally swallowed some of your potion when it exploded," Cedric was smiling slightly having resumed his position, stroking Harry' hand gently.

"Five days?" Harry asked, struggling into a sitting position.

"Yeah, but you're okay, aren't you? Dumbledore said that once you woke up you'd be fine."

"I'm fine, just a bit of a headache. Where are Ron and Hermione?

"Hermione said she trusted me to look after you alone, Ron's still scared of Pomfrey."

Harry chuckled appreciatively for a moment before gasping in horror "Hermione's guessed hasn't she?"

"Very perceptive young witch," Cedric chuckled ruefully "She pinned me against a wall, wand against my throat and told me in no uncertain terms that if I hurt you I'd have her to deal with."

"She didn't mind? About me being gay?"

"To be honest I think she sorta knew."

"Oh," there was silence whilst Harry examined the edge of his blankets.

Then Harry smiled, a beautiful cheeky smile that lit up his whole face. Turning his head to look at Cedric he tilted his head to one side and beamed.

"Don't I get a good morning kiss?"

"Harry, it's four in the afternoon."

"Shut up," said Harry leaning forward and effectively silencing his boyfriend.

OOOOOO

A/N: Totally weird I know but it's picking up next chapter. What did you think?


	6. Parting

A/N: I'm sorry about my slow updates. I have a list of chapters to write and this chapter had to wait for its turn on the list. I'm gonna pop the list on my profile so you can check which chapters I'm writing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Apart from my new Playstation. And even that's just a Playstation 1.

OOOOOO

Five hours and Harry would be returning to the hell hole that was more commonly know as the Dursley's. Five hours and he wouldn't see Cedric again till who knew when. Five hours and his life would officially hit rock bottom.

Harry groaned slightly as he slid down in his seat. Ron and Hermione were bickering about Elf rights and the scenery outside the window of the Hogwarts Express was nothing if not boring. The trees that flashed past were all the same. The view never changing, the sky always blue, none of it like Cedric.

As if hearing his name in Harry's thoughts, there was a small tap on the compartment door and in stepped Cedric Diggory. Harry felt his heart lighten instantly.

"Do you mind if I sit in here?" he asked, his eyes sweeping the compartment and coming to rest on Harry, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Harry grinned back and fought the blush that crept up his cheeks. Hermione smiled internally at how happy Harry looked. As Harry seemed too lost in his own world to say anything Hermione answered.

"Yeah, sure," deciding that it was her one chance in life to be evil, she asked "how come you're not sitting with your own friends? Not that you're not welcome here."

Cedric threw her a pleading look, fully aware that they both knew why he was there. She smiled evilly back at him as he flopped down in the seat next to Harry.

"They're being really immature," he lied "and I remembered that I hadn't really had much chance to talk to Harry about the Tri-Wizard tournament. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity."

Ron seemed completely uninterested in the conversation. He began to rustle around in his bag and after a moment he pulled out a pack of exploding snap cards.

"Anyone want to play?"

The occupants of the compartment soon settled into a comfortable routine of Ron beating them all at exploding snap. After the seventh game Harry bailed out and instead shuffled back, swinging his legs up so his feet lay in Cedric's lap, his back leaning against the cold window.

Hermione noticed the simple companionship that the two seemed to have, despite their short relationship. Ron, unsurprisingly, saw nothing at all.

The rest of the train journey passed in this fashion. Every now and then Cedric looked up to see Harry watching him, his head on one side, a small smile gracing his pale pink lips. Every time he saw this he blushed.

Ron continued in his own oblivious world, talking non-stop about Quidditch, Quidditch and more Quidditch. Cedric got into a playful argument with him about the Hollyhead Harpies and even Hermione joined in when Ron suggested that boys were better than girls at Quidditch. 'You're so sexist, Ronald! Half the members of the Gryffindor team are girls!'

The only person who didn't join in was Harry. He was lost in thought, alternating between how nice it was to see his boyfriend and his friends getting on, and wondering if he was ever going to see Cedric again or whether their relationship was just a silly wish that would come to nothing.

Harry was beginning to feel rather depressed as the Hogwarts Express chugged into Platform 9 ¾. As the train slid to a halt, Cedric stood up.

"I'd better go rescue my luggage from my friends. It was nice talking with you guys."

He nodded once to Ron and Hermione before holding out a hand for Harry to shake. Harry took it, feeling the crinkle of a piece of parchment being passed from Cedric's hand to his own.

"See you around, Potter," he said, smiling one last time at the group of them before leaving the compartment.

Harry felt his heart break a little as Cedric disappeared from sight. Not wanting to risk reading the note in front of his friends, well, mainly Ron, he slid it into his pocket, hoping for the best, fearing the worst.

OOOOOO

A/N: Please review. Poor Harry, I feel like playing with his heart.


	7. Rescue

A/N: So, I've finally got round to updating. I am sorry about the wait. Feel free to hate me. Well, don't hate me, but you know what I mean.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. It's all JK's. Lucky sod. No offence meant 'mam.

OOOOOO

Harry kept Cedric's note carefully folded in his jacket pocket on the drive back to Privet Drive. Every few minutes he'd reach into his pocket and tentatively touch the edge of it, just checking it was there. Good or bad news, he wanted to read it. Needed to know what Cedric was thinking. As soon as they arrived back at Privet Drive, Harry threw himself into his room, jammed the door shut with his chair and pulled out Cedric's note. His fingers trembling slightly, he eased open the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you're probably really worried about what this is going to say (see, I know you really well!!). Don't worry. This is just to tell you that I love you and not to worry and not to unpack. I know you hate staying with those muggles of yours so you're coming to stay with me. No arguments. You're going to have fun. I think we both need it after the year we've had. I'll be there for you at about four._

_See you soon_

_I love you_

_Cedric xx_

Harry felt his heart fill with happiness and he leapt to his feet, doing a happy little jig in the middle of his bedroom. He was leaving the Dursley's! He was staying with Cedric! Cedric still loved him! Resisting the urge to let loose a happy whoop, he contended himself with his dancing for a minute more before sitting down on his bed, head spinning. Glancing at his watch he managed to register that it was just gone twelve. Flopping back on his bed he lay, eyes closed, trying to calm him down. He didn't want to act like a complete twit when Cedric turned up.

OOOOOO

It was getting close to four so Harry let Hedwig out of her cage and opened his window.

"I'm going to Cedric's. Find me there."

She hooted gently before swooping through the open window and out of sight.

Harry was just coming down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Before he could reach it, however, Uncle Vernon appeared. The front door was pulled open, revealing Cedric. He was wearing jeans and a top that proclaimed 'Who's a pretty boy then?' with a picture of a parrot and Harry thought he'd never looked more gorgeous.

"Yes?" Uncle Vernon demanded.

"Hi, did Harry mention I was coming?" Cedric asked in his best, I'm-A-Perfect-Little-Sod voice.

"No, he didn't," Uncle Vernon said, glaring over his shoulder at Harry.

"Oh well, no harm done. We'll just grab his things and be on our way. It'll only take a few minutes," said Cedric, smiling brightly.

"Hold on just one second. On your way? You're not taking the boy anywhere."

The smile on Cedric's face became just that little more forced but Harry doubted that Uncle Vernon noticed this.

"His name is Harry," Cedric said through gritted teeth.

Before Uncle Vernon could say or do anything Cedric had pushed passed him and over to Harry.

"Where's your stuff?" Cedric demanded harshly.

Slightly shocked by Cedric's tone of voice, Harry turned and hurried back up the stairs, re-emerging moments later with his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Cedric took the heavy trunk from Harry, lifting it easily and led the way back to the front door.

"Excuse me," he said, faking politeness and Uncle Vernon seemed to know better than to object.

Cedric swept passed Uncle Vernon, more intimidating, in Harry's opinion, than Severus Snape himself. Harry followed quickly, easing passed his Uncle and onto the front step.

"Bye," said Harry seconds before the front door was slammed in his face and he and Cedric were left stood outside in the cold.

Cedric took a few calming breaths before striding over to a motorbike that was parked and throwing a helmet over to Harry.

"I'm sorry I got snappy. I get like that when I'm really angry."

"It's okay. You were just being protective of me. I liked it. I like anyone who annoys Vernon Dursley," Harry said smiling gently at his boyfriend.

"Aren't you just a sweetie?" Cedric grinned, shrinking Harry's trunk with a quick spell then doing the same to Hedwig's cage "put that helmet on. Don't want to hurt your pretty little head if we crash."

Harry swatted at him before pulling on the helmet. Cedric swung his leg over the bike and gestured for Harry to climb on behind him. After a few moments struggle, due to his short legs, Harry was on and wrapping his arms tightly round Cedric's waist.

"Ready?" Cedric asked, loud enough for Harry to hear through his helmet. He nodded. "Hold on tight then."

Cedric jammed his own helmet on, gave Harry's hand a quick squeeze and kick started the engine. Before Harry even had time to prepare himself they were off and Harry decided that he'd never been happier in his life. Even though he was just the tiniest nit scared off falling off and dying a terribly painful death. Yeah, apart from that, he was delighted.

OOOOOO

A/N: Corny ending and not enough written, I know. I'm sorry. I'll try and be a faster updater from now on. It's the holidays so I'll try and get a lot of writing done. Feel like brightening up my day and reviewing? Please?


	8. Underwear?

A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long to update. I am under major exam stress. I decided to give myself a fan fiction night to escape.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. Apart from Noah.

Dedication: For vodoo-voldemort, whose name made me laugh, as did their review.

Words: 1,423

Chapter name: Underwear?

OOOOOO

They rode for nearly three hours, stopping every now and again to go to the toilet and let Harry stretch his leg. Despite it being healed by Fawkes it was still sore and didn't like to be held in one place for too long. As soon as Cedric had found out what was wrong he had jumped into overprotective boyfriend mode and insisted they stop whenever it started to be more than slightly uncomfortable. Harry had been embarrassed but pleased by Cedric's fussing.

The sun was just starting to set when they pulled onto a dirt track and Cedric dropped the speed, stopping in a yard next to a cottage hidden from the road by a line of trees. Cedric turned off the engine and swung off the bike before helping Harry off.

"Well?" he asked, gesturing to the cottage in front of him "what do you think?"

"It's… gorgeous," Harry said honestly.

The cottage had four stories made of red brick with dark green ivy wrapped over it. The window sills were painted blue and a few of them were decorated with small pot plants. It reminded Harry of a smaller, slightly less dilapidated version of the Burrow. He loved it.

Cedric grinned at the smile on Harry's face and grabbed onto Harry's arm.

"Come on. Mum said she'll have my head if we're not unpacked and ready for dinner by half past."

Harry glanced at his watch.

"It won't take me half an hour to unpack. I don't have that much stuff. Actually I have, like, no stuff."

"Who says we'll be spending all that time unpacking?"

Harry frowned momentarily before Cedric's meaning sunk in and he blushed bright red. Cedric laughed and pulled Harry towards the house.

"You are so cute," Cedric said, pulling a key from his pocket, unlocking the front door and pushing it open "Hey! Mum! Dad! We're home!"

Harry stood uncertainly on the doorstep as Cedric went inside. Cedric glanced over his shoulder at Harry and, seeing his discomfort, tutted lightly before pulling him inside and pushing the front door shut.

"Is anyone-?"

Cedric was cut off by the sound of running feet and suddenly a teenage boy about Harry's age was stood at the top of the stairs, hands on hips, glaring at Cedric.

"How come you always call for mum and dad and never me?"

"Because I'm hoping that you're not here," Cedric said childishly, grinning as though he'd had this conversation many times before.

The boy humphed in reply and stomped off.

"My brother, Noah. He's an idiot. You'll get sick of him within a week."

"I didn't know you have a brother."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Cedric said with a wink "you'll find it all out in time. Don't worry. I bet mum's in the kitchen."

He led the way to a door and stuck his head inside.

"Hey mum. We're home," he said, pushing the door open fully to reveal a woman stood chopping vegetables.

"Yes. I heard that blasted motorbike come roaring up the drive."

Harry peered over Cedric's shoulder to try and get a good look at Cedric's mother. She was tall, thin and had pale brown curly hair, just like Cedric's, falling elegantly onto her shoulders. Her eyes were the same intense shade as Cedric's and she had the same tanned skin.

"It doesn't roar mum, it purrs! And this is Harry," Cedric said breaking into Harry's thoughts and pulling Harry out from behind him, presenting him to his mother almost as a child would show a parent a new picture they'd painted at school that day.

"Hello, Harry," she said, glancing up at before going back to her vegetables.

"Hello, Mrs Diggory."

"Oh, don't call me Mrs Diggory. That's my mother-in-laws name. Call me Silvia."

"Okay," Harry said, feeling shy all of a sudden. He was meeting his boyfriend's parents! Weren't people normally terrified by this? He sure was. And they didn't even know.

"We're gonna go unpack Harry's stuff, mum. We'll be down in time for dinner."

"Okay. And make sure you put that motorbike away. I don't want your brother playing around on it. You know what happened last time," Silvia said, picking up at wooden spoon and waving it threateningly in her son's direction.

"Yes mum," Cedric said with a sigh "come on, Harry."

Cedric led the way back into the hall and up the stairs. Cedric's bedroom was on the top floor. On the second floor they passed a door painted black with white splashed over it. It proclaimed, in vertical graffiti style letters from top to bottom, 'Noah'.

"My brother's room," Cedric said unnecessarily "Don't _even_ touch the door. It's jinxed."

They continued up and Harry soon found himself stood in front of a perfectly normal door painted white. And all of a sudden he felt really nervous. He was going to be staying with his boyfriend. He was going to be sleeping in the same room as his boyfriend. This was his boyfriend's bedroom!

He managed to push the feelings of slight panic to the back of his mind and instead shot Cedric a questioning look.

"We going in or gonna stand here all day?"

"I was just wondering if I should carry you over the threshold. You know, how couples do and stuff."

"That's just weird. Guys carry _girls _over the threshold. I'm not a girl."

Cedric gave him a look that clearly said 'Sure. You're not a girl at all.' Harry humphed in reply and decided that if Cedric was going to be an idiot he'd go in by himself.

Cedric's room was a glaring combination of yellow and black. Two yellow walls and two black. The duvet cover on the double bed was black and the pillow cases yellow. The ceiling was black with little glow in the dark stars that shifted slowly across the black surface and occasionally onto the black walls.

Harry stepped forward, looking around, taking in the little trinkets that lay around and the photos scattered along all the surfaces. A yellow lava lamb blobbed happily in a corner, casting a gentle yellow light over the room. Harry turned back to Cedric to find him stood nervously in the doorway, obviously awaiting Harry's decision.

"Very… Hufflepuff," Harry said eventually with a grin to show that it wasn't an insult.

Cedric laughed following Harry inside and flopping down onto the bed. He patted the bed beside him gently and Harry dropped down at his side. They lay there for a few moments watching the stars shifting before Cedric gave a small sigh of annoyance.

"Right, we'd better unpack," he said, pulling Harry's luggage from his pocket and unshrinking it.

He dropped it to the floor with a heavy _thunk _and flung it open, starting to sort through the mess inside and throwing Harry's non-school clothes onto the bed.

"Eek! Cedric, don't do that. It's a complete mess and it's got all my clothes in and all my…" Harry said, leaping to his feet and trying to stop Cedric's sorting.

"Underwear?" Cedric asked, with a small laugh, holding up a pair of grey boxers.

"Oh no," Harry said, diving back onto the bad and burying his face in the pillows.

"Aww, come on, Harry. It's not that bad. It's just underwear. And you're my guest so I'm going to look after you so you don't have to do anything."

"Fine. Fine," Harry said, glaring at Cedric over his shoulder "but don't tell anyone."

"As if I'd want to share your underwear with anyone else," Cedric said with a small wink, making Harry blush bright red and bury his head back in the pillow.

After a few minutes Cedric banged Harry's trunk shut and slid it under his bed. The clothes were spelled into cupboards and draws and Cedric sat back onto the bed.

"You were right," he said, reaching out to play with Harry's hair "you have hardly any stuff. We are so going shopping for some clothes."

Harry sat up and flashed Cedric a grin.

"Thanks. I never get to go clothes shopping."

"Then we'll go soon," Cedric said, then glanced at his watch "we've got ten minutes till dinner. What do you wanna do?"

Harry didn't get a chance to reply before he was being pulled into one of Cedric's heart stopping kisses. They lay back down on the bed, still kissing, completely unaware of the figure glaring at them from the slightly ajar door.

OOOOOO

A/N: Dun dun dun. Well… that's all I can write tonight. I'll try and be faster with the next chapter. What did you think?


	9. Burn

**A/N**: Hi guys. Sorry about the long update wait. I'm at school all week and work all weekends so I have very little time for writing. I wrote this a little while ago on a sun bed in Corfu bit I've had no time to type it up. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing at all, apart from Noah. Oh, and Burn.

**Dedication**: For TheInkSlayer, for a very fun review.

**Word count**: 1583

**Chapter name**: Burn

**OOOOOO**

Dinner with the Diggorys was an uncomfortable affair. For Harry at least.

Silvia was nice, treating him no differently to anybody else at the table, fussing over how much everyone was eating, informing Noah that if he wanted to be a beater then he needed to fill out a bit and telling Cedric that now he didn't play Quidditch he should cut back on his food a bit. She didn't comment on Harry's weight but did push an extra sausage on Harry's plate which made Cedric pout.

"No girl will want you if you get fat," she said, pushing extra vegetables onto Cedric's plate and frowning when he opened his mouth to protest.

Silvia's comment made Harry flush and the grin on Cedric's face told Harry that he knew why.

Mr. Diggory alternated between ignoring Harry and making pointed comments about how Cedric was such a brilliant Seeker. Harry got the feeling that Mr. Diggory didn't like him very much.

Noah was silent through the meal apart from responding to his mother's comments with a yes or no. he spent most of the meal glaring at Cedric as though the older boy had done something terribly offensive to him. Childish as this was, it was this alone that made Harry dislike the boy.

However, it was Cedric's actions alone that made Harry feel truly uncomfortable. The stupid boy – no, stupid _man_, Cedric was a man now – had taken it into his head that it would be a good idea to spend the whole of dinner ghosting his fingertips up and down the inside of Harry's thigh, occasionally rubbing gentle circles on the sensitive skin. And try as Harry might, nothing he did could get him to stop. Every time Harry thought his torture was over, Cedric would start again, a small smirk on his handsome face.

By the time dinner was ended Harry was about ready to cry with embarrassment. More than once he'd drawn attention with an embarrassed squeak when Cedric's hand brushed against him just a little too high up. As soon as Silvia said they could leave the table, Harry was out of his seat like a shot and halfway up the stairs before the rest of them had even properly stood up.

When Cedric got up to his room he found Harry hidden under his covers with only his eyes peaking over the top, glaring at Cedric as he shut the door behind himself.

"You're a mean mean man Cedric Diggory," Harry said and Cedric could hear the pout, even if he couldn't see it.

"I'm very sorry," Cedric said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Harry's forehead in a gentle kiss "forgive me?"

Harry could only nod mutely before pulling Cedric down on top of him for a proper kiss.

They stayed awake till at least midnight, snuggled under Cedric's covers, alternating between talking, cuddling and kissing. They didn't realise how late it was until Mr. Diggory banged on Cedric's door telling them to shut up and go to sleep.

Cedric groaned and pulled himself out of Harry's embrace, flinging back the covers and standing up. With a flick of his wand, an empty glad became a camp bed and two of the glow-in-the-dark stars became a red duvet and a gold pillow.

"Thought I'd try and make you feel at home," Cedric said, referring to the Gryffindor colour bed.

"I already was. I'm with you," Harry said, then blushed scarlet at how sappy he sounded.

Cedric's response was to pull him into a passionate kiss leaving Harry breathless and slightly dizzy.

"You're so cute," Cedric murmured against his lips before pulling away and starting to rifle in a couple of draws, searching for Harry's pyjamas.

He found them after a few moments and held them out to Harry who took them and started to undress. After a moment Harry realised Cedric was still watching him and paused in his unbuttoning to raise a questioning eyebrow at pervy boyfriend.

"No?" Cedric asked innocently.

"No," Harry replied firmly, but still smiling.

Cedric chuckled and turned around, beginning his own undressing. Harry watched for a moment to check he wouldn't turn round again before whipping off his clothes and hurriedly pulling on his pyjamas. Sure, he loved Cedric, but he didn't want him to see him naked.

They were soon both settled in bed, Harry in his red and gold, Cedric in his black and yellow.

"Comfy?" Cedric asked, watching Harry wriggling about in bed with a small smile on his face.

"Yours is better," Harry said, beating his pillow into shape.

"You're welcome to share," Cedric's offer was accompanied with a leer.

"In your dreams. Diggory."

"I don't doubt you will be," Cedric said, leer still in place, and switched off the light.

**OOOOOO**

Cedric was back in protective boyfriend mode the next morning and insisted that with Harry's bad leg, they wouldn't go back on the bike and would instead Floo over to a friend of his in London and head out shopping from there.

Harry felt his stomach churning at the thought of the Floo network but put on a brave face and allowed Cedric to pour a small pile of green Floo powder into his hand.

"I'll go first. Check he's not doing anything indecent in his living room," Cedric said with a smile.

He glanced quickly around the empty living room before pressing a quick kiss to Harry's lip then throwing a fistful of sparkling powder into the flames. He kissed Harry again before stepping into the flames and speaking the address.

He was gone in a whoosh of green flames and Harry was left alone, feeling uncomfortable in a stranger's house. Harry shifted unhappily from one foot to another, not wanting to be alone long but not wanting to fall on Cedric if he fell out at the other end. A creak behind him made him jump and he almost dropped the Floo powder. Deciding Cedric had had long enough to move, he followed his boyfriend into the flames, hacking slightly on the smoke and somehow managing to cough out the right address for once.

As he felt himself slowing down, Harry flung his arms out to stop himself from falling out of the fireplace. His efforts were almost wasted, however, as he stepped onto the hearth and nearly fell over at the sight in front of him.

Cedric was pressed against the wall, hands held high above his head, being thoroughly kissed by a tall man with short blonde hair. The man pulled back to look at Cedric and Harry could tell that he was smiling. The man, not Cedric. Harry wanted to step forward and let the men know that he was there but he was still frozen to the spot by the sight of Cedric kissing someone else. He felt like his heart was shattering.

"Now don't tell me you didn't enjoy that," the man said, voice filled with arrogance.

"Burn, get the hell off me," Cedric commanded angrily bucking against Burn to try and get him to move.

"Not until you tell me the truth," Burn said, tightening his hold to keep Cedric in place.

"Fine! Okay. It was a good kiss. You're good at it. Now get off me."

Burn ignored him in favour of kissing him again. Harry definitely thought he was going to be sick.

"Am I better than your boyfriend?" Burn asked and Cedric looked shocked.

"What kind of a sick question is that?"

"One that requires an answer if you want to be out of this hold before your boyfriend turns up. Think, what the poor boy would feel if he saw this? Your time's running out."

Cedric seemed to panic at these words and attempted to fight Burn away again but the other man was obviously incredibly strong and Cedric eventually gave up, sagging against the wall in defeat.

"Ced," Burn's tone was warning.

"You are such a creep," Cedric hissed at him "Fine! You're a better kisser than Harry. What's it matter? It doesn't matter."

"It probably matters to him," Burn said in a self satisfied tone, releasing Cedric and stepping aside to let him see Harry for the first time.

Cedric's eyes widened in horror and if Harry hadn't felt so utterly rotten, he would have found his expression almost funny. As it was Harry felt as though his heart was being torn from his chest.

Cedric pushed Burn aside and attempted to move closer to Harry but Harry stepped away from him.

"Harry-" Cedric started but Harry cut him off with a shake of the head.

"No. I don't want to hear," Harry said, horrified by the feel of tears prickling at the corners of his eyes "you… why couldn't you have just told me that I'm rubbish? If I'm that bad why didn't you just dump me? Why… why… why did you…?"

Harry could hear a small voice in the back of his head telling him that he was over reacting and that he should calm down. That it didn't matter. But Harry couldn't listen to it. He was too busy feeling hurt and betrayed. Without thinking what he was doing, Harry grabbed a hand full of what was clearly Floo powder from a pot beside the fire and threw it into the flames.

"No! Harry wait-"

The rest of Cedric's words were lost as Harry stepped into the flames and said the first place that came into his head.

**OOOOOO**

**A/N: **That's where I'm going to leave it for now. I apologise again for the long update wait. I'll do better in future. Any reviews, praise or pointers, will be appreciated. Thank you.


	10. Home

**A/N: **Hey guys. I know it's been a while and I'm very sorry. My computer died and I lost all of the stuff I've been working on and it's taken a while to get a new one and for me to work up the inspiration to write. I hope you like this chapter.

**Dedication: **For takola, my most recent reviewer.

**Word count:** 1,443

**Home**

The green flames died away leaving nothing behind. For a moment Cedric stood completely still, shock keeping him frozen to the spot but a snickering behind him pulled him back to reality and he turned on the laughing blonde with a snarl.

"What the hell did you do that for?!"

"I thought the boy needed teaching a lesson. Leave relationships to grownups. Now he can run off and play with people his own age. And you can go out with me."

Cedric was so angry he thought he would explode.

"I don't want to go out with you! I don't fancy you. You're a creep and a slime-ball. You're not even one millionth of the man Harry is. I don't care that you're a good kisser. Harry could be the worst kisser in the world and I would still rather be with him than you!" Cedric knew he was yelling but he couldn't stop himself "I hate you."

He pulled out his wand, apparating away before Burn could do anything else. He popped back into existence on the middle of the kitchen.

"Mum? Have you seen Harry?"

His mum looked up from her washing up to see Cedric stood in the middle of the room, hands twisting together nervously, looking as though he were about to cry.

"What's happened sweetheart?"

"We were going shopping... and Burn... and Harry got upset and ran off and now I can't find him!" Cedric babbled, ending his half explanation in tears.

"Why..." his mother seemed to be trying to delicate but was unsure how to phrase her question "why was Harry upset? What happened?"

"Burn kissed me and Harry saw and he heard me tell Burn that he's a better kisser than Harry."

Silvia seemed to take the implied confession of her son's homosexuality rather well and simply reached out to wrap her son in a tight hug.

"Where do you think he could have gone? Home?"

"No. He hates his family... but he likes the Weasleys."

"Then we'll go round there and look for him."

Cedric looked sceptical for a moment before he nodded.

"Would you like me to come with you, or do you want to go on your own?"

"I think I'd better go by myself. Harry won't want to talk about stuff if we're not alone."

Silvia smiled softly, giving Cedric's hand a squeeze.

"Ok. And I just want you to know, I don't care who you fall in love with, just as long as they make you happy, alright?"

"Thanks mum. I'd better go."

**OOOOOO**

Harry flopped down onto the dust, not noticing the way the stones scraped against his skin. He had flooed over to the Weasleys but they were all out and the house seemed to recognise him as an intruder rather than a visitor and had promptly ejected him, dropping him down on his backside in the middle of the yard. He hadn't bothered to stand up again, instead laying down in the dirt and letting the tears roll down his cheeks.

He knew he should have stayed and let Cedric explain. In his heart of hearts he knew that it didn't really matter and he'd seen with his own eyes that Cedric hadn't wanted to be kissed, but he couldn't stop it hurting. Every time he closed his eyes he could see Cedric being pressed into the wall by that pathetic excuse of a human being.

He closed his eyes, digging his heels into his eyes and groaning. This was all so messed up. All he really wanted was to see Cedric and let the other boy make him feel better but the Gryffindor side of him wouldn't let him let go of his pride and go back to Cedric's house. And besides, he didn't really have any way to get there.

"You'll get filthy if you lie on the ground like that."

Harry sat up instantly, looking over to where Cedric was stood, hands twisting together nervously, waiting for Harry to say something.

"You found me."

Cedric nodded and moved to stand beside Harry, offering him a hand to help him stand. Harry took it, allowing cedric to pull him up. For a moment they stood close together, Harry's hand still clasped in Cedric's, before he stepped away. Cedric's face fell but he nodded in understanding.

"We need to talk," he said.

"Yeah. We do. Can we go home?"

"Home?"

"Yeah, back to yours. Home."

Cedric was grinning, despite the fact that they were sort of arguing. Harry was calling his house home! Harry couldn't suppress the blush that spread across his face at Cedric's happiness. He hadn't meant to do it but it had happened and he found that, despite the burning pain in his chest when he thought of Cedric and Burn, he couldn't help feel delighted at making him happy.

"Right. Home. Come here," Cedric said, reaching out an arm and wrapping it round Harry's waist "hold on."

He twisted away pulling Harry with him. There was a full body squeezing sensation that made Harry feel ill and then he was popping back into existence in the middle of Cedric's front hall.

"What the hell was that?"

"Sorry, apparating. You've never been apparated before?"

"No."

They stood in silence for a few moments.

"Cedric? Is that you? What's going on? Is Harry with you?"

The kitchen door swung open and Silvia peered out at them.

"Ah, Harry. How lovely to see you. Are things... alright?"

Cedric sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Mother! We're going upstairs. We'll see you later."

He grabbed Harry's arm and steered him upstairs. Harry sat down onto Cedric's bed with a flump. There was silence as Cedric hovered by the door, clearly unsure what to say, twitching slightly. Harry sighed and patted the bed beside himself.

"Sit."

Cedric sat.

"Look, Harry, I-"

He was cut off when Harry grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a bruising kiss. Cedric moaned and pulled Harry close. They groaned together as Harry pushed his hands into Cedric's hair, sliding forward to settle himself in Cedric's lap. Cedric slowly lowered himself back until he was lying flat on his back, Harry settle against his chest as their kissing grew hotter. Cedric's fingers were digging into the skin on his hips but Harry couldn't care that he would more than likely have bruises. They broke apart, gasping for breath.

"Do you still think Burn's a better kisser than me?"

Cedric frowned at him blearily, clearly confused from the kiss.

"Burn who?"

"Good enough," Harry grinned, leaning forward again for another kiss but Cedric held him back, his expression losing its dazed quality.

"Why aren't you mad? Why aren't we arguing?"

"Because it doesn't matter. I realised, it doesn't matter. You love me, not him. I know that."

"But... but I said..."

"Look, I once told Ron that you were a puffed up idiot with bad hair. I didn't mean it, but I still said it."

Harry leant forward, this time for a gentle kiss, just lips brushing together, innocent.

"I love you, Harry."

"I love you too."

They stayed silent for a while, barely kissing, foreheads pressed together, just relaxing against each other. Eventually Cedric broke the moment, leaning back and pouting at Harry.

"You said I have bad hair."

Harry laughed.

"Don't push it. I can un-forgive you if I want."

"Don't you dare," Cedric murmured, leaning forward for another kiss.

There was a light tap on the door and they sprang apart.

"Boys? Do you think you'll be coming down in the near future? Your father's going to be home soon and I thought you could help me cook. If you're not too busy."

Cedric raised his eyebrows at Harry. His mother, always a meddler.

"We'll be right down," he called back and they heard her head back downstairs.

"So you forgive me?" he murmured , his lips ghosting against Harry's.

"Always," Harry half whispered back, pecking Cedric on the lips and they shared another short kiss before Harry climbed from the bed and made to move over to the door.

He looked back to see Cedric watching petulantly from the bed.

"You said we'd help. And besides, now she knows I'm your boyfriend, I'm going to have to try and make a good impression."

"You've already made a good impression," Cedric moaned "Stay with me for a bit."

Harry moved back to join him, kneeling on the floor beside the bed and kissing him again.

"I'll stay with you forever. "

"Promise?"

"Promise. If you do one thing."

"What? Anything."

"Good. Come down and help with the cooking."

**OOOOOO**

**A/N: **I hope you liked that chapter and I'm looking forward to some reviews. Please?


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